Cairo(ANN)- Egyptian social media users have expressed their outrage at the government’s announcement that the UAE-owned Dubai Ports World will acquire a 49 per cent stake in the Suez Canal industrial zone.

Critics have accused the military, which has expanded it’s control over Egypt since it orchestrated a bloody coup against the country’s first democratically elected president in 2013, of selling sovereignty in return for UAE support.

They also expressed astonishment that the Egyptian authorities have engaged in a partnership agreement with DP World at a time when other countries in the region are cancelling agreements with the same company due to its excessive control of strategic ports.

Egypt and DP World have not signed the agreement yet but they are in the final stages of negotiations, according to the Egyptian government’s spokesperson.